Tainted Blossom
by Katara-Hatake
Summary: Telling people to stay strong, giving them meaningless sayings to hold onto to prevent any kind of break down and giving them false hope - it's not at all a 'good' thing to do. It just deceives a person's view of reality."Shika? Curse?" "Hn." "SAKURA-CHAN!" "Get up yeah!" "...Dobe." rating may change
1. Chapter 1: Murphy's Law

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, But if u think you can do better, then have it your way...**

_ITALICS: 'Thoughts'_

Normal: "Talking"

**_IMPORTANT: _**_POLL ON MY PROFILE TO DETERMINE PAIRINGS!_

_**A/N: Sorry for staring this again, But I seriously was kinda distraught while writing it before and I didn'treally know what ws happening so now I'm starting over~!x Enjoy!x :D**_

_**~Meet you down beloooww~ **_

* * *

Telling people to stay strong, giving them meaningless sayings to hold onto to prevent any kind of break down and giving them false hope - it's not at all a 'good' thing to do. It just deceives a person's view of reality.

Yet, in some cases, even simple sayings can make a person of elbow and gristle move mountains.

They say that, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". It was a phrase passed down through generations which emphasized the strength of many peoples wills and the tolerances they have towards the ignorant. There are many more phrases that one could quote, but the quotes that are more important are those that play on "Murphy's Law". Murphy's Law states that: "Anything that cannot happen can, and will, happen". It is a law that plays on irony, luck, and sometimes can defy even the laws of relativity, the laws of physics and the laws of the supernatural. But unlike the quotes stated in the previous paragraph, Murphy's Law plays heavily on words, especially those of the overconfident, idiotic, and egotistical.

Phrases such as "don't look a gift-horse in the mouth" comes to mind. Or "that will never happen to me" also are few examples.

Today, we shall concentrate on the later phrase: "That will never happen to me."

* * *

A familiar, candy-flossed-haired girl, paired with naturally beautiful, emerald eyes, sat inside her two-bedroom apartment. She and her best friend shared the apartment and worked together to keep a living. But at the moment, that same best friend was running late.

Our pinkette looked around her room. She'd always thought her best friend had a weird taste in decor but never argued about it.

Purple walls with orange polka-dots surrounded her, as well as pictures her best friend had taken since they had met all those years ago. A double bed, decorated with fluffy, throw, and different-sized pillows and comfy sheets, was put on the left corner of the room, right next to the simple window and cherry-wood dresser. On the dresser were accessories, gadget-books, photos, and just about every other thing they could fit onto the small space.

It looked like a normal, teenage girl's room, but Sakura, alone, was far from 'normal'. She was a ninja, made a Jounin just recently. The female she was waiting for also took on the same life-threatening career.

_' Where is she?' _Sakura thought impatiently, sighing into her palm and tapping her foot against the wooden flooring. '_If she doesn't get here fast, we're gonna be late for training!'_

Just as Sakura finished that thought, a gorgeous, curvy beauty entered the room, smelling like the outdoors. She was "modestly" clad in a pure, crimson-red, tight tank top and short, light-denim blue, jean shorts. Her platinum-blonde hair was put into it's signature ponytail and her twinkling baby blue eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"How are you, my lovely Forehead?" asked the blonde cheerfully, sitting down next to her best-friend and wrapping her tan-ish arms around her neck happily. Sakura rolled her eyes at the blonde, not returning the hug.

"You're late," she stated flatly.

"Well, you see-"

"Don't even bother," Sakura interrupted standing up. "Come on, we have to get to the training grounds before sensei does." The blonde rolled her eyes at her favorite pinkette.

"Sheesh. You're so uptight, Sakura. Loosen up a little," she lightly chastised, grinning. Sakura sighed turning around to face the blonde.

"And you're going to get us into trouble. We're already an hour late." Sakura pivoted around on her heel and turned the door handle. "Come on, let's go," she said as she headed out the door.

Ino smiled. Sakura wasn't all that angry with her. "Wait up." Ino curled her arm around Sakura's and the two left to the training grounds.

* * *

Three figures stood next to each other under the shade of a tree.

The first one, had a lean body with sunshine-blonde, spiky hair and clear azure eyes. Despite being a ninja, he was wearing an orange shirt with a green Jounin vest on top and brown cargo shorts. His weapon pouch was strapped securely to his leg. He also had three whisker like marks on either of his cheeks; the mark of the Kyuubi.

Next to him, leaning against a tree, stood a muscular figure slightly taller than the first. He had raven-shaded hair shaped like the back-side of a duck, and captivating, endless onyx eyes. He was wearing an outfit similar to the first figure, except his weapon pouch was hanging off his hip and the orange was a navy blue.

And lastly, sitting above the second figure on the branch of the tree, was a female figure with long, wavy, deeply chocolate-tinted hair with violet mixed in. She had beautiful amethyst eyes and a curvy figure, her outfit highlighting her body even more. She was dressed in a black tube top that reached her navel, and form fitting shorts that ended just above her knees. It was paired off with knee length black boots and a green Jounin vest like the other two.

"Where are they?" asked the female, her voice laced with annoyance. "Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

"They should. But you know how Ino is, don't you, Katara?" answered the blonde-haired male, lazily, lounging in the shade. "Plus, sensei's always late anyway, so there's no rush."

"I know that! But maybe they should be a little more responsi-" Katara paused, noticing the two people in the distance. "...Nevermind.."

"Huh?" The blonde haired male leaned back, looking to where Katara's eyes were locked. As soon as he saw the two silhouettes, his face split into a sly grin.

"Well, Look who's here!" he exclaimed, waving at the approaching figures. Katara rolled her eyes, all the while silently looking at her dark haired companion.

_'I wonder what's up with you...?'_ The brunette hopped off of the branch of the tree and moved to stand next to the previously addressed male, who seemed to visibly relax in her presence. She turned to look at him and nodded towards the orange haired male, who was already moving towards the two approaching figures.

"Coming?" she asked slowly walking towards them.

"Hn," was her only reply.

She rolled her eyes, turning to look at the other three figures in the clearing. As they got closer, Sakura's face lit up into a grin.

"Hey, Sasuke! Katara!" she greeted, waving at the both of them.

"Hn" replied Sasuke.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Ignore him", she said. "He's just PMSing." All the while, she was secretly grinning at the irritated look on his face.

"So, are we all here?" asked Ino, looking around the clearing.

" We're still waiting for Kakashi-sensei," replied Naruto.

"He's not here yet?" Sakura asked, looking confused.

"Nope!" Katara shook her head.

"Why don't we start without him?" asked Ino, looking slightly irritated.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Because, Ino," she started, "Kakashi-sensei said that he's got a surprise for us."

"Hn," grunted Sasuke in agreement.

"But that pervert's always late!" grumbled Naruto in protest.

Sakura sighed, "Come on guys, it's just a little longer," she reasoned, looking at Ino and Naruto pleadingly.

_'Please don't start a fight.' _

'**_You know how they are!'_** said Inner, **_'Why is Ino with us today anyway?'_**

_'Kakashi-sensei asked me to bring her'_ Sakura answered Inner.

_**'I wonder what he's planning...'** _wondered Inner thoughtfully.

Sakura mentally shrugged. _'Don't ask me.'  
_  
"-hink we should just start!" exclaimed Ino angrily, glaring at Katara heatedly.

Katara glared back, her eyes flashing red momentarily, this action missed by everyone except Sakura.

_'Damn!'_ Sakura thought frantically, _'If this continues, Katara might actually hurt Ino!'  
_  
"Guys!" Sakura shouted, moving in between Katara and Ino, "Stop it!"

Katara and Ino stopped their bantering to glare at Sakura.

Sakura moved to stand behind Naruto. "Or not..." she continued weakly.

Naruto looked at Sakura worriedly."You okay, Sakura-chan?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at Naruto, her eyes softening. She smiled graciously.

"I'm fine, Naruto. Just getting a headache from all this bantering," she replied evenly.

Naruto's eyes softened, and he turned to look at the two arguing females.

"GUYS!" he shouted. "Stop it! You're giving Sakura-chan a headache!"

Katara and Ino turned to look at him murderously.

"Why y-!" Ino was interrupted by a puff of smoke that appeared next to Sasuke.

"Yo!" came the greeting from the cloud.

As the smoke cleared, three figures appeared standing next to each other.

The first one had cocoa eyes, short, inky-black, spiky hair, and a beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore the Twelve Guardian Ninja sash that had the kanji for "Fire" (火) marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles and bandages wrapped around the arms of his sleeves.

The one next to him was wearing the standard Konoha shinobi outfit along with iron plated gloves and a black T-shirt with white stripes in the middle of the sleeves. He had gravity defying grey hair with a mask that covered half his face and a forehead protector over his left eye. He had dull grey eyes and was well built.

Lastly was a male shorter than the other two, with a lazy expression on his face and fairly long jet black hair tied into a pineapple-shaped ponytail. He had narrow, lazy but warm brown eyes and was wearing a flak jacket, along with a black long sleeved shirt paired with matching pants and sandals, and green lined mesh armor on his wrists and ankles.

"Shika? Asuma-san?" questioned Katara. "What are you two doing here?"

Asuma turned to look at her, an unreadable look on his face. He said slowly, as if speaking to five year olds, "We're here...to help you train..."

The addressed group stood in random order, silence dripping across the area. Soon enough, confused expressions began blooming on their faces, some more...exaggerated than others.

"WHAT?" a majority of them exclaimed, all except for Sasuke, who stood there twitching erratically, and Shikamaru. The combined boom of voices had Asuma wince slightly.

"...Troublesome..." Shikamaru breathed out, a puff of a lazy sigh escaping his chest.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in amusement, showing he was also smiling underneath his dark mask. He gestured slightly. "Well, we-"

"What a drag."

"-Decided it would be great to try something new~," Kakashi sang, clapping his gloved hands together in a poor attempt to brighten the atmosphere. His lone onyx eye glinted in mischief as he scanned the many young adults before him.

Sasuke was glaring at him openly, most likely promising the older man's death through a painful means. _'Nothing different there,' _Kakashi thought, sweat dropping at how predictable the dark boy was.

His gaze switched over to an irritated Sakura, who seemed to be the only one thinking about the current situation... Or maybe she was thinking of ways to injure Katara and Ino as the two bantered like children._ 'Meh, no difference there either...'_Kakashi shrugged that off.

Speaking of which, Katara and Ino were glaring at each other, sparks flickering like an impending storm. The two had gone from screaming at each other about trivial things to having a glare-fest in tense silence.

All the while, Naruto, who looked extremely pleased -and loudly voicing his happiness- with this new form of training, tried to work things out between them. He switched between assuring the two girls and pointing out reasons why they shouldn't fight - occasionally throwing in an insult he didn't know was an insult. These futile attempts resulted in him getting hit over the head by Ino, and Katara shouting at Ino for hitting Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. _'Alright, I change my mind. This might have been a bad idea after all'_. He looked over at Asuma and Shikamaru, who seemed to be watching Katara and Ino's banter with mild amusement and plenty annoyance at the volume.

The Copy-Nin sighed again; he seemed to be doing that a lot today. He swiftly turned to talk to them, when a messenger bird appeared and sat on Katara's shoulder. The girl brought her side of the pointless argument to a halt.

"What in the-!" Katara exclaimed in surprise, as she looked at the messenger bird perched onto her shoulder, her eyes shining with curiosity. She removed the scroll from its neck and unraveled it, the end of it flying off into the horizon.

"So?" asked Ino impatiently, angered by the disruption. "What does it say?"

Katara, ignoring the looks Ino shot at her, turned to Kakashi.

As soon as he met her eyes, she said, "I won't be able to train with all of you today." She nodded to the scroll. "It seems like Tsunade-san has a mission for me."

Naruto perked up at this. "Wait, Katara-chan! Is it just you?" he asked, looking at Katara expectantly.

Katara's eyes softened at this, recognizing his need. '_He really wanted to go on a mission didn't he?'  
_  
"I'm sorry Naruto, It's just me.." she trailed of after seeing the slightly disappointed look on his face. But he immediately brightened up, and his beautiful azure eyes shined in excitement and a hint of concern.

"It's alright! Just make sure your back by the time Baa-chan gives us a team mission okay?" he lightly intoned. Despite his joking, light-hearted voice, he was serious.

Katara smiled, picking up the hint. "Of course, Naruto." She turned around to look at everyone else.

"I'll be going now. Good luck on your new training regime, and don't die. Ja ne!" As she spoke, she began disappearing in a pillar of rose petals. By the end of her sentence, she was gone.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is troublesome. We needed her for the training you had planned, Kakashi," he drawled out lazily, all the while looking at the fallen rose petals with a calculating look on his face. _'Hmm..I wonder if the mission's a solo mission'_... He puffed out another sigh.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well, I wasn't expecting her to get a mission, and you're right about the training we had planned." He let his hand fall back to his side, looking slightly wary. _'Why would Hokage-sama send Katara on a mission when it's her off day?'  
_  
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's question broke him out of his thoughts. She was looking at him, concern changing her bright emerald eyes to a cloudy jade.

"Hm?"

"You spaced out for a little bit," she explained. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Don't worry. It was nothing," he reassured her. Sakura stood there, her hesitant stance showing disbelief. "Nothing at all."

* * *

_**A/N: Alright! So I re-designed this Chapter! Hope u like it!x If u have any questions Ask away!**_

_**R & R Plzz!**_

**_Flames allowed! _**

**_Random Poll:_**

**_Who's your favourite Team 7 Charater:_**

**_A: SASUKE_**

**_B: SAI_**

**_C: KAKASHI_**

**_D: NARUTO_**

**_E: SAKURA_**

**_F: YAMATO_**


	2. Chapter 2: Training!

**Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto, Just my Own Characters and the plot.x (This Chap Dedicated 2 Terra~)**

_I would like to Thank anonymous reviewer Sarah for being the first to review~ Thanx! :D_

_**And I'd like to give special Thaks To my AMAZINGLY AWESOME Beta: TERRAAA~!xxx Thanks 4 your help Gurl~!xx :DD**_

_**(Also If ur reading this PLEASE review!x)**_

_**~Meet you down belooooww~ :D**_

* * *

_**"You spaced out for a little bit,"** she explained. Kakashi smiled under his mask._

_**"Don't worry. It was nothing,"** he reassured her. Sakura stood there, her hesitant stance showing disbelief. **"Nothing at all."**_

* * *

~**Akatsuki Base~**

Nine figures sat, circling a table. An ominous atmosphere began flooding the immediate area as tension rose far beneath the ground where these figures were located. In the midst of all that is tainted and evil, the man with the most authority's eyes began to glint in the low-light, the silver-grey rings of animosity bringing about promises of his namesake: 'pain'.

"Silence," that same man commanded in an eerily smooth voice, his tone calm but foreboding. Any signs of sound immediately hushed at the demand and eyes locked onto their figurehead, who seemed to be consumed in the shadows. "Let us begin, shall we?" It didn't sound at all like a question; more like a command.

The occupants caught onto the implication and straightened themselves for the meeting.

"I have called all of you here," their pierced Leader began, "to discuss our medical resources, or lack thereof. Our previous medic experienced a rather...unfortunate accident." His endless ringed eyes stared pointedly at one of the shadowed figures.

The silver-headed male that was on the receiving end of the look just grinned at this, heads slowly turning to meet the vibrant magenta eyes shining in mischief. His partner, who matched the eye-colored vibrancy but instead in green, just shook his head in disappointment.

"What, you heathens?" he asked in a rough tone, grinning like a mad-man. "That little fucker was asking for it!"

The leader narrowed his eyes even more, nearly to the point of closure. He held the sigh of utter disappointment and opted for setting a frown on his face. "You didn't have to kill him," he chastised, annoyance seeping into his calm voice. "He was the only thing closest to a medic. Killing him just because he accidentally stabbed your eye in the middle of your check-up does not mean it was necessary to sacrifice him to your Jashin."

"Jashin is the fucking epitome of God," the dirty-mouthed speaker stated matter of factly. "He fucking needed the damn fresh blood. Sometimes, a fucking rabbit isn't enough to satisfy the hunger." The orange-haired man resisted the urge to slap his head and focused on the matter at hand.

"Anyways, onto more pressing matters. Since the unfortunate loss of our old Medic, we will be needing a new one. Therefore, I am going to be sending four of you to meet and...'persuade' our new Medic. The rest of you will be back-up, if needed." His voice grew even more serious and his men knew not to do anything stupid at the moment. "I should hope you will not need this back-up, understood?" he continued in his eerily indifferent voice, his silver-eyes coming to rest on a certain potty-mouthed man.

The same man, who was previously scolded, just continued to lock eyes with his hostile leader, completely unaffected. His partner shot him looks, telling him to 'shut up', of which the other pointedly ignored.

Our carrot-headed leader on the outside, although calm, was thinking up ways of torture for this dirty-worded man. Those calming thoughts were thrown into the back of his mind, as he knew that the man he wished so dearly would just shut the hell up would enjoy the torment. He was just that sick and twisted. Sigh...

"...Very well. The team of four will include, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Deidera," narrowing his eyes at the two last men he had mentioned when they were about to protest, "and the medic I have chosen is..."

* * *

******~In Konoha: Training grounds 7~**

"Alright! Listen up!" Kakashi hollered out, his lone eye examining the loud the group of young adults.

Heads turned to look at the speaker. Sasuke was still glaring. His mood seemed to worsen with Katara's much needed disappearance. Naruto, who was still excited about training, stopped verbally expressing his -loud- excitement and just managed to convey his happiness through beaming at his sensei. Sakura stopped conversing with Ino and turned to look at her sensei with a curious look on her elven face. Ino just looked irritated at being interrupted again. And Shikamaru and Asuma looked like they were used to all this, opting for sitting hunched over and having a 'this is so troublesome' look on their faces..

_'Great. The only people I could have used to help me don't even look like they care,' _thought Kakashi, a gloomy tone lingering in his mind.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura, breaking him from his thoughts. The pinkette's eyes looked at him, awaiting further instruction.

Kakashi smiled at her, eyes crinkling, and said, "I'm glad to know someone's interested in what I have to say." Sakura blinked. After a couple of seconds, Naruto spontaneously burst out laughing.

"Hahah-You- ahahaha-Thought (pant) that-ahahahah-she-hahaha-mphhihdfjsh-" He was interrupted by Sakura quickly placing her hand over his mouth, a vein throbbing on her forehead as she tried to maintain an 'I don't know' look..

Kakashi looked at his only female student suspiciously. Sakura smiled stiffly, trying to cover Naruto's slip-up, "Don't worry about him sensei!" she chirruped, half sounding strained. "Just continue with what you were going to say."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, a glint of questioning sent to Sakura. The girl pretended not to notice, her stiff smile turning to a twitch. He continued questioning, then abruptly bloomed into an eye-crinkling smile, causing Shikamaru and Asuma to sweatdrop at the quick mood change. '_Like a PMSing girl..._'

"Alright! Like I was saying, since Katara isn't here, Ino you're dismissed. Asuma, you can either stay to watch or go do whatever you do." explained Kakashi, smile intact. He waved his hand dismissively in front of his face.

Ino, meanwhile, was fuming at the older man. _'How dare he ask for me to come and then waste my precious time!'_

"Why you son of a b-mmmf!" Ino was interrupted by Asuma's hand clamping down onto her mouth. He shook his head at her in a silent warning and the blonde glared. Her sensei slowly let go, trusting her not to continue with her sentence.

"Humph!" the blonde beauty harrumphed, arms crossed and lips turned into a pout.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru repeated for the umpteenth time, a sigh escaping his lungs at his teammate's antics.

"Kakashi, Ino and I will take out leave," Asuma informed the addressed man, looking pointedly at Ino when she looked like she was about to protest. She popped her mouth close and scowled, begrudgingly moving to her sensei's side.

"Goodbye." The smoking-prone man nodded to Kakashi and then turned away.

As he and Ino left, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at Kakashi for further instructions after the sudden dismissing. Some eyebrows were raised. And Sasuke continued to glare.

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck under the pressure of the gazes - and silent death threats - and said, "Well, you see, I actually had everything planned-"

"Yeah right!"

"Troublesome."

"Hn."

"-and it involved the use of Katara's skills," he continued, ignoring the expected interruptions. "So I'm going to have to improvise." He closed his eyes, waiting for Naruto to burst.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked, anger seeping into his tone. Kakashi was being to calm about Katara's leaving, especially since her mission could be so dangerous and...somewhat suspicious.

"Trouble-"

"Finish that word, and my fist will be lodged into your windpipe," interrupted Sakura, glaring heatedly at Shikamaru.

Annoyance was evident on her face and her knuckles crackled at the intensity she was forcing upon her fisted hands. Shikamru just sighed for what felt like about the thousandth time that day, remaining silent. He knew that if he finished his favorite phrase, his windpipe would come out the other end of his ass. The girl was already pooling chakra into her fist. The look on her irritated face promised pain. God. Girls were so emotional.

"Ahem!" coughed Kakashi none too obviously, catching everyone's attention. "As I was saying," he continued. "We're going to have one-on-one matches until I can think of something better for you all to do."

Naruto looked slightly deflated, albeit disappointed, at the lack of originality and freshness at the idea, but soon, his face lit up into a grin.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei?" he called excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His giant grin paired with the mischievous glint in his eyes made Kakashi slightly uneasy, yet the man covered his ill ease. Instead, Kakashi looked at his loudest student blankly.

"Yes?" he asked in a lazy drawl that had been absent up until now.

"Can we have a two-on-two match instead?" he asked, getting even more hyped up by the minute.

Two on two matches meant that he had a better chance if he got paired up with any one of the other three. Because let's face it. Naruto against a hell-bent guy with a Sharingan, an insanely smart genius who could come up with strategies faster than you can say 'Troublesome', and a temperamental she-beast with a killer left hook? A snowball has a better chance in hell.

Kakashi looked at him blandly, and then his face crinkled up into a smile, hidden by the mask, of course. "No," he flatly rejected, and Naruto instantly deflated once more.

"Why not?" he asked angrily, a frown marring his handsome features.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei? Why not?" agreed Sakura looking at him pleadingly. Heck, the thought seemed pretty good. If she was paired with Sasuke, she had the advantage of the Sharingan. If she had Shikamaru, she had the art of surprise plus another mind to work with. And if she had Naruto, she had brute force and his unlimited amount of shadow clones. It was a win-win-win situation.

Alone, she'd get suffocated by the force of competition. These guys, even though they would never hit a girl as it was against they morals, weren't afraid of hitting her during a match. Kakashi looked at his two pouting students, face indifferent, and then finally sighed and gave in.

"Alright then," he agreed slowly. "It's Naruto and Sakura versus Sasuke and Shikamaru."

"Hn." grunted Sasuke. _'Why did I get this guy?'_ he wondered sulkily, ego too large to admit that he needed the extra brain. Then again, if _he_ were stuck with Naruto, he'd be up against a mega-mind team consisting of Shikamaru and Sakura. They'd beat them in a breath. But his pride was much to inflated to admit anything so he continued to sulk.

"Alright!" cheered Naruto, throwing his arms over Sakura's shoulders.

"Me and Sakura-chan are gonna kick your asses all the way to Suna, teme!" Sakura giggled while Shikamaru just shook his head, muttering, "What a drag."

"Great!~" Kakashi sang, clapping his hands once. "Now that you know what to do...BEGIN!"

Naruto grinned largely and smacked his fist into his palm. As he prepared to create some clones, Sakura grabbed his collar and lugged him into the foliage. The blonde man let out a strangled noise before getting shushed, back smashing into a tree.

His azure eyes locked with emeralds as she put a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. She put her hands flat against the pile of leaves underneath them and concentrated chakra into the greenery. The pinkette expertly knitted a web of chakra and before Naruto could question her motives, she yanked the bed of leaves over them.

"I saw them leap through here," Sasuke voiced above them, a branch shaking as he set foot on it. There was an irritated edge to his tone.

"They're probably headed in the direction they jumped into the trees. West. But maybe they're trying to throw us off track. One or both of them could've turned and gone south. Maybe southwest." That was Shikamaru. The lazy sound in his voice dissipated and instead, his calculating nature took over.

"Your plan?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I'll head south and curve southwest. You go west and do the same. We'll meet up in a few miles," he explained. "The thing with them is that they're both dependent on brute force. Speed is behind them. We can catch them this way."

Sasuke nodded and turned on his heel, leaping into the greenery like lightening. Shikamaru did the same and dashed away.

"Ugh, how rude!" Naruto whispered, completely angry at being looked down upon as Sakura began to remove their blanket of leaves. She pulled the chakra back and the leaves fell limply around them. The pinkette sat up on the balls of her feet.

"Well, you're never supposed to underestimate your opponent," Sakura whispered, a brief smile on her face. "But I admit, he managed to figure out my plan."

"You had a plan?" Naruto asked as he stood up.

"Yeah, I'll explain it while we go." She gestured behind her and he picked up on her implication. He nodded and jumped up onto a thick branch before breaking into a run, Sakura close matched his pace and soon, began to talk.

"I was thinking of cornering them and taking them out with force," Sakura started, half of her mind tracking Shikamaru's and Sasuke's movements. "But that's out of the conversation. So we're gonna have to play stealth."

"But you know me, Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested. "Stealth isn't exactly my forte."

"...You're a ninja. Stealth is the main idea," Sakura said slowly. She rolled her eyes as Naruto thought about that. "Anyways, I have another plan."

Naruto grinned as they neared a destination far from the other two. "Hit me."

* * *

Sasuke hit the intended mark, not finding the blonde or any signs of pink. So as planned, the Uchiha swerved in his step and began picking up pace closer to the south-west direction. His hopes were high, betting on Shikamaru finding them. If the bright but lazy male was in sync with himself, then he'd know to drive the 'Dynamic Duo' to meet with Sasuke. That way, it'd be like a game of mouse-trap.  
The dark-haired princely figure continued brushing past the billions of greenery, intent on finding his partner.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke, focused on his footing, looked up and redirected his attention. Shikamaru appeared in the distance over a small clearing, and as if they were reading eachother's minds, the two landed in the center of the clearing without fault.

"Did you find anything?" the pineapple-headed genius asked.

"No," Sasuke replied, tone suggesting irritation, "not a thing." He brushed a pale hand through his raven-tinted spikes. "I'm guessing you didn't either?"

"Yeah," the other replied with a sigh. "What a drag..."

"Don't fall asleep on me, Nara," Sasuke reprimanded, smirking. Shikamaru sent him a dreary grin.

"New plan. Maybe they went in the other direction?"

"It can't be. They couldn't have jumped in this direction and automatically turned. There would have been some noise."

"Hm...then maybe...they hid?"

Sasuke paused, pondering that thought. When he and Shikamaru had come up with separating and meeting back up, he'd sensed a sensation akin to chakra below him. But he figured it were the plants - all living things had chakra. Human bodies were just stronger, and for ninja, much stronger. Since what he'd picked up was so small, he hadn't thought about it.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about it because it had disappeared.

"Crap," Sasuke muttered, "I know where they are."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, then fumbled to catch up with the sprinting Uchiha.

* * *

"God dammit!" Sasuke cursed, throwing the pile of leaves he believed Sakura and Naruto had been located. His eyes narrowed in vast irritation and anger. How could they have slipped from his grasp so easily?

Shikamaru calmly picked up one of the leaves Sasuke had thrown, sniffing it lightly. It didn't smell any different. So the Nara let his chakra pour into the leaf. Besides Sasuke's and his chakras, two other signatures faintly left a trail. Two he knew quite well.

"They can't be far," Shikamaru mumbled out.

"They could be miles from here!" Sasuke burst out, aggravated. "They made a diversion! They knew we would overlook this! That was long ago; they fucking _knew_, Shikamaru!"

The man in question narrowed his eyes. "I will not tolerate such feminine behavior," he warned, referring to Sasuke's PMSing like state. "Either we handle this situation logically and plan out our next move so this doesn't happen again, or we lose. Simple as that."

He got off of his knees and wiped his hands together, ridding them of dirt.

"I can sense Naruto's chakra trail a bit. Him having an unnaturally large amount of chakra has its perks." He turned to Sasuke briefly.

"And why are your emotions running so rampant? Usually, you're much more controlled over your emotions. Care to share the sudden change?"

Sasuke breathed through his nostrils, visibly calming down and ignoring the second half of what Shikamaru had said. In an attempt to further sooth his nerves, he stood for a few seconds, collecting his composure. His eyes re-opened and he stared pointedly at Shikamaru, one of the few to ever meet his eyes directly and not at all flinch away. For whatever reason, the bored glint in Shikamaru's eyes reminded him of why this should be an easy win. So Sasuke nodded in a direction.

"None of your business," he snorted. "Anyways," he began, "lead the way."

Shikamaru grinned at his then removed his hands from his pockets, a habit he picked up from his father to remain patient. With ease, he bent his knees, then took a leap, Sasuke following closely behind.

His eyes, which gleamed as he read the very light trail, darted from side to side, trying to pick up a pattern to predict their general location. Meanwhile, Sasuke had his mind in the midst of whirring, strategies coming together for when they confront the 'losing' side.

"Got a pattern," Shikamaru announced. "Looks like they're headed...deeper into the forests... Closer to the lake." His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I wonder why?"

"Let's not question it," Sasuke suggested. "We just need to find them and tie them up to bring to Kakashi."

Shikamaru made a sound of agreement somewhere in his chest. "So do you have a plan?"

"I..." Sasuke started, "was thinking we could sneak up on them. If you can, you could try to reach out and possess Naruto's shadow. Between the two of them, Naruto is the stronger one. He has the Kyuubi, too. I'll handle Sakura with some help from the Sharingan. I'll knock her out in an illusion and you could trick Naruto into hitting his head or something. At that point, we can tie them up."

Shikamaru hummed in consideration. "...Good point," he began. "There are a few flaws..."

Sasuke scoffed.

"Sasuke, Sakura isn't that weak. Her strongest point since the academy has been, and always will be genjutsu. She won't easily fall for an illusion, and even if she does, she has the skill to detect a change in atmosphere. She'll dispel it before we could even bind her."

Sasuke brought this into thought.

"And Naruto," Shikamaru started again. "His chakra can probably overpower my jutsu if he ends up doing that to force himself out of the lock. My jutsu and your Sharingan take up a large portion of chakra. If they break out of either of them, we're left with halved chakra sources and no escape."

Sasuke growled, irritated at the major flaws. "So what then, Point Dexter?"

"Who knows?" Shikamaru replied neutrally. "We could try it. In the case they do break it, we need a plan B."

"And that would be?"

"Force," Shikamaru evenly said. "You're quick, therefore use your speed to overpower Sakura. I'll conjure up a plan to take down Naruto."

"Let's switch opponents," Sasuke suggested, hopping up a level to jump alongside Shikamaru. He glanced at the genius from the corner of his eye. "Sakura won't take that long to knock out. It's not anything you can't handle. I'll take on Naruto, since my Sharingan can match his chakra reserves."

"Again, Sakura isn't weak," Shikamaru pointed out. "Besides, she's as smart as me. Don't you think she might even _out_-smart me?"

"Even if she does, you're probably quick enough to think of another solution."

"And when I do, her brute strength will be enough to wipe me out. I'm not as quick as you. I won't be able to get out of that earthquake."

"Then I'll try to finish my fight quickly to help you out. But I highly doubt she'll be that much trouble."

Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly, annoyed by Sasuke's inability to take in the fact that their opponents, no matter how irritating or seemingly weak they are, were not the same people as they were back then. Underestimating them would be their downfall.

"Whatever. What do you plan to do with Naruto?"

"Hopefully use an illusion to knock him out long enough to bind him. Otherwise it's down to fire."

"That's all?"

Sasuke sent him a look. "For now."

"Mm..."

"How far away are they?" Sasuke asked aloud.

"They're up ahead. Hide," Shikamaru replied. He and Sasuke nodded to each other then separated, chests meeting the grassy beneath. They both moved away from each other in a crawl, backs straight and low. Slowly, they arrived where Sakura and Naruto were, both perched on the river bank.

Speaking of the two...

Up in the opposite trees, the 'Dynamic Duo' sat, snickering to each other.

"I told you they would overthink it. Now look at them," Sakura whispered, staring evilly at the sweating Sasuke and slightly nervous Shikamaru.

"You're so smart, Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied, winking to his partner.

"Aren't I?" The pinkette smirked a bit, then brushed her fingers through her hair. "So I have a theory..."

"On what?"

"On their plan."

Naruto stopped scratching at the bark of the tree they were sitting on and paid attention to his teammate. "Shoot."

"I'm thinking that Sasuke's gonna be using his Sharingan. By the way he's moving towards 'you', he'll try to use it against you. He is, afterall, a predictable brother-blood-thirsty guy."

Naruto snickered at the title.

"And Shikamaru's gonna try to use his family jutsu against me or something. Or try to outsmart me."

"Well, let's see how that'll work out for them!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning brightly. Sakura smacked him to shut him up.

"Get ready..."

**POOF!**

"DAMMIT!"

Sasuke's curse rang out loud, as the two had tried to sneak attack 'Naruto and Sakura'.

"Where are they?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't fricking know," Sasuke ground out, looking around rigorously.

Naruto took that as his cue, and with the symbols leading to an army of Shadow Clones, he saluted to Sakura. "Let's go!" Sakura smirked and counted to ten after Naruto had gone, and jumped off of the tree after him. In the course of the fall, Naruto had clones popping up with him, and the pinkette had chakra gathering to her fists.

Before either of the dark-haired boys could do anything, an army of Naruto-people barraged down on them, the real Naruto standing where Sakura would land.

As the two tried to fend off clones, exactly ten seconds later, a flash of pink appeared in front of the frozen Naruto.  
Shikamaru and Sasuke realized that too late.

By the time the pineapple headed-genius was yelling to Sasuke to abandon ship, Sakura's fist was driving into the earth. Fissures erupted from around them and for a moment, everything was airbourne. Sasuke and Shikamaru felt their feet leave the ground for a split second before gravity painfully pulled them back down.

**POOF!**

"Shikamaru?" Sasuke yelled out.

"Over here!"

The smoke from the disappearing clones swirled around them as they found eachother, the white clouds turning grey.

"Sakura must've cast some smoke bombs," Shikamaru concluded, wary. "I told you she'd be able to outsmart us!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snarled out. "We can't focus on that. Let's just think about how we'll be able to find them!"

"Wait, this smoke is a little abnormal..." Shikamaru stopped Sasuke from moving where he believed their opponents were standing.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not letting up. At all..."

Sasuke stood, alarmed.

Before Shikamaru could warn his partner, the genius felt a painful sensation bloom in his right cheek. His name was being called out by Sasuke, but it soon disappeared; he assumed he was in battle. He landed none too gracefully, his back scratching against the harsh blades of grass.

Shikamaru groaned and he slowly sat up to see that several meters in front of him had been cleared. The view he had revealed the river the fake Naruto and Sakura had been watching. He rubbed his bruised cheek, feeling it swelling. Then, his opponent hit him, literally and figuratively.

He was knocked back down. Shikamaru clenched eyes pried open slightly.

Standing on the river like a skilled kunoichi, Sakura stood, her knuckles slightly bloody from hitting the ground, her entire frame wet from the river, and a feral smirk on her face. Shikamaru groaned. Why did he have to handle the demented one?

He got back onto his feet slowly, theories and strategies and plans whizzing through his brain.

As soon as he reached his full height, his fingers performed a blur of signs, and like lightening, his shadow reached towards Sakura at top speed.

He was surprised to find the river now empty. Confused, he retreated his shadow and began to look around, searching for the seemingly disappeared signature.

A hand broke out of the dirt in front of him and out materialized Sakura, who did nothing but smile at his frozen form, her thin fingers curling around his ankle and sending chakra throughout his body before his hands could join in a sign. She slowly hauled herself out of the earth, not letting go of his ankle.

"Surprised?"

"Impressed," Shikamaru corrected.

"Really?"

"Yes," he replied as the chakra constricted movement all over his body now. "I figured you were smarter than what anyone would originally assume, but not this smart. I didn't estimate your amount of knowledge accurately."

"Shikamaru, I was top student on theory in the academy," Sakura retorted, now fully out of the ground, but still crouched in front of him. "I'm a paper ninja. Theoretical strategies and assumptions are my forte."

"I figure that now."

Sakura let out a short laugh.

"Now, why didn't you use a genjutsu to knock me out, now? Or tie me? Or even just hit me with that strength of yours?" Shikamaru asked, slightly puzzled by her lack of rush after catching her enemy.

"Because you're smart enough to dispel that. And you can break out of simple rope - shut up, chakra string is to taxing on my reserves. And that's too easy," she replied evenly, a smile blooming on her face. "We should have some fun first."

"What are y-"

Before he could speak, Sakura had dived back into the earth, her hand still on his ankle. She pulled him with her. As if they were in a pool, she began swimming throughout the ground, firmly keeping a hold on a shocked Shikamaru.

She brought them directly beneath the river where water began forming, then pulled them up into the river. She swam up and yanked him over.

He immediately began to cough, removing water from his lungs. "I didn't know it was that deep!" he yelled out.

Sakura smirked. Then she let go of him and dived below the water's surface, disappearing away from him. Shikamaru gained feeling almost immediately and he tried to lash a punch underwater. It hit nothing but liquid. He gasped out, splashing around and looking for Sakura's signature.

What the...?

Where was the river bank? The shoreline? _Land_?

"Sakura?"

Laughter.

Laughter ran like a siren around him.

...

His eyes widened.

'_Like a freaking literal siren!_'

It was then he realized he was in a genjutsu.

And it took a little while longer to realize that Sakura had drained him of chakra to keep him from dispelling the jutsu.

...

Well, shit.

* * *

"Shikamaru!" Sasuke yelled out as his partner began flying sideways, a pinkette following him. He realized what was coming next a fraction of a second too late. Naruto's shadow clones began to pile around him.

"Dammit!" He let a ring of fire swallow up the clones. But no matter how many flames he would release, another dozen waves of Naruto clones replace them. The real Naruto wasn't among them.

The only thing that kept Sasuke going was Shikamaru over on the river, sitting on top of the water but slumped over. And what urged Sasuke to hurry was a smirking kunoichi approaching Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!"

"You can't get to him, teme," everyone of the Naruto clones said, grinning faces obstructing his view of his teammate. "I won't let you."

"You Dobe!" Sasuke gritted out, pausing in using his chakra and instead punching and kicking out any of them that tried to get in his way.

But of course, this was his downfall.

He failed to cover his back. So when the bottom of a hard sandal met his neck, the last thing he saw was a giant cloud of smoke.

* * *

"It's finished," Naruto announced with a salute, bounding over to an accomplished looking Sakura. She was smiling, wiping her hands of dirt, a tied up and gagged and drained Shikamaru being dragged by the rope. Sasuke was in a similar state, slung over Naruto's shoulder.

"What'd you do to him?" Sakura asked as she flipped Shikamaru so he was sitting piggy-back style, his head falling onto her shoulder. Naruto turned, kicked up some dirt, and began leaping into the trees, Sakura close by.

"Overwhelmed him with some clones. I figured he'd get frustrated and lash out so I just hit him in the neck," he replied with a triumphant grin. "Bastard never saw it coming! This is what he gets for underestimating me!"

Sakura laughed. "I bet he deserved it."

"Hell yes, he does!" Naruto shot her a foxy look. "And genius over there?"

"When I punched him, I dropped into the ground. And when I reached him, I did what I practiced on you; drained his chakra."

"What was his reaction when he found out?" Naruto asked, feet thumping on the thick branches.

"A die-laughing worthy moment," she replied, snickering to herself. "Anyways, we went swimming for a bit, and while he was underwater, I cast a genjutsu on him. Because he's drained of chakra, he couldn't break out of it."

"Smart."

"Isn't it?"

"Heh, so now what?"

Sakura laughed. "Now, it's time to bring them to Kakashi and rub it in their faces when they come to."

"Alright!"

Naruto's grin widened as he felt Kakashi's chakra signature come within range.

"I found him! Let's go!"

* * *

**_-A few minutes later- _**

"Sensei!"

Kakashi, who had been busy reading his little, special orange book at a nearby creek, looked up, surprised to hear Sakura. He'd placed his bet on Shikamaru and Sasuke with some difficulty simply because they were the superior team between the two. Shikamaru's brains combined with Sasuke's ninjutsu and Sharingan was an undefeatable duo.

Sakura and Naruto were a level or two below them to him. and yet?

"Sakura, Naruto," he said, hiding his surprise -and his book- as the two reached him. He visibly winced when the grinning pair dropped the bodies they'd been hauling with a heavy thump.

"What's our prize?" Naruto excitedly asked, jumping up and down.

"Calm down," Sakura whispered, elbowing him in the ribs. He flew back a few meters into a tree, but absentmindedly shot back up as if it was nothing.

Kakashi winced again, rubbing his ribs slightly. "You'll find out your prize when they come to."

The duo paused, staring at their sensei. With a final stare, the two shrugged and turned, walking away from their sensei.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Going to get ramen. Tell us when they're awake," Sakura replied over her shoulder, waving halfheartedly. They disappeared from view. Kakashi stood alone, two prodigy bodies at his feet.

"...Since when were they so..." Quietly, he pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise, looking for a page. "Let's see...'nonchalant'..." He looked up, stroking his chin.

"Since when were they so nonchalant?" Kakashi looked back down to his book. "I proved Kurenai wrong. Icha Icha is actually educational!" With a cheerful blink, the older man sat himself upon a log and continued reading.

"Nnghh..." Sasuke groaned from the ground. "Wha-...!"

Kakashi kicked at Sasuke's temple. "Shhh, this is the best part!" he whispered excitedly, not at all conscious of the fact that he knocked out his student.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank You for Reading! Please Review! Feedback appreciated~!x Thank you again Terra For ur Contribution and help in this storyx especially the fight scene~!x This is 'Dedicated' 2 You~!xx 3**_

_**REVIEW~**_

_FLAMES WELCOME~!x_


	3. Chapter 3: Ramen Alert!

_**Disclaimer: **_**I donot, will not, did not, own Naruto! (sadly.. T.T)**

**Again I would like to Thank my Amazingly-awesome Beta: TERRAAAAA~!xx Thanx soooooooo much!**

**I'd like to thank The Awesome reviewers who DID Review, and This is for the Anonymous reviewers~!**

**Sarah: **_Thank you for reviewing and they'll most likely come into the picture in Chapter 5 or 6 ... I think..? Anyway thanx for your review! :D_

**Guest: **_I'm Glad you liked it! and thankyou for the review~ There will be ItaSaku 2 come don't fret! _

**~Meet you at the Bottom~**

* * *

**_RE-CAP:_**

_Kakashi kicked at Sasuke's temple. **"Shhh, this is the best part!"** he whispered excitedly, not at all conscious of the fact that he knocked out his student._

* * *

Sakura kicked a flat stone away from her feet, the rock flipping over to reveal several bugs she assumed were a family. Despite the creepy Shino-ness of the notion, she smiled. But all of her broken attention turned onto Naruto, accompanying her walk back. And for once, she finally had a good look at him. He was so different - so _changed_.

He grew to be very tall, surpassing herself by a long-shot. His sunshine-yellow hair was now a shade darker, instead a golden-sunlight color and his bright, sky blue eyes were now a shimmering azure. His face had become more defined, his features becoming pronounced as the blonde's baby fat began to disappear in large amounts - his cheekbones high and jaw squared. Naruto's skin was now a little tanner from being outside often. And underneath his new fashion sense was a muscular build that surprised her like no other. All in all, he was quite handsome now, even if he hadn't matured mentally.

It didn't take long for Naruto to bring her out of her musings, though. He had looked at her curiously at first, then the curiosity morphed into mischief.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" he prodded a little teasingly. "Like what you see?" He grinned brightly, a suggestive wiggle coming from his eyebrows.

Sakura blinked at him, caught off-guard slightly. With the intent of a come-back, she sighed, a disappointed tone to it, and shook her head. "Nah, I've seen better..." She couldn't help the laughter that immediately erupted out of her at Naruto's comically crestfallen face.

"Sakura-chan! It's not funny!" he whined cutely.

"It is to me!" she sang with another short laugh, grinning largely.

"Hmpf!" He crossed his arms childishly with a huff and a cute pout marring his features.

Sakura's laughter died down as they came closer to Ichiraku's, the bright orange flags like giant cross lights. All that was left of their joking were the hints of smiles left on their faces. Naruto tugged her along gently and had her sit in her usual seat; any spot to Naruto's left.

Ayame passed them with a wink, carrying orders out to people outside of the stand - most likely people who ate to go. She whispered a breathless, "Be right with you."

To pass the time, Naruto began tapping his foot, whistling to himself. Sakura matted down wrinkles in her skirt, busying herself with small things, before crossing her fingers and leaning forward.

It officially got awkward. "So..." Sakura began.

"...Yeah..." Naruto continued.

But before any more embarrassing words could be said, Ayame had finally gone to them, her hair a mess and her breathing coming out as pants. She was smiling nonetheless. "What can I get you two?" she asked expertly, taking out her small notebook, pencil at the ready.

"Oh...I'll have a medium miso ramen," Sakura said calmly.

"I'll have two large beef ramen!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin. "I'll be gettin' more." He winked jokingly.

Ayame laughed, scribbling things down. "As always, we're expecting that." She closed the notebook and stuffed it into the front of her apron. "I'll be back in a bit with your orders."

"We appreciate it!"

She laughed again and walked into the kitchen. As any trace of Ayame had disappeared, Naruto slowly to Sakura, a question that'd been hurting his brain since the beginning of the excercise sitting on his tongue. She paused in her idly thoughts and tilted her head slightly to listen to anything he had wanted to say.

"Do you..." he started, unsure. She urged him with a slight nod. "Do you...know anything... about... Katara's mission, Sakura-chan...?"

Her soft green eyes had dimmed slightly. "I'm sorry, Naruto," she answered, regretting the fact that she had to lie to him. But she kept from showing the obvious, even adding a slight pout for affect, "but even the Hokage's apprentice isn't told everything."

His face had fallen once more. He looked so helpless, Sakura felt guilty for having to lie to him. Blue wasn't a color that suited such a happy person.

"Oh..." He looked so downcast, Sakura was tempted to tell the truth. But she pursed her lips to keep herself from ratting Katara out.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure she's okay," she said, a little lighter in contrast to earlier. It seemed to help Naruto for now, especially when the ramen arrived.

* * *

**~Unknown Location~**

Leaves rustled softly, almost by the wind, as a lone figure continued rushing across the greenery. The swift, lithe figure let her breaths come and go in low pants whilst she hopped branch to branch, doing her best to keep from drawing unnecessary attention from anything.

_'Dammit!' _she cursed mentally, sweating and slowing down just a few paces from exerting so much energy. Running from village to village taxed on her chakra reserves.

"Almost there," she whispered to herself urgently, almost reassuringly. But despite it, going so fast was draining her. But she was so close...!

_'Almost there, just hold on a little longer,' _ thought the female, sleep urging her to stop. Black spots began to plague her vision whilst her chakra continued dropping in large amounts. Why'd the starting point have to be so damn far? Her body began to feel heavy with energy loss. Her vision started to fog and fade away and she could feel herself losing consciousness. Soon she felt the world around her start to sway and swirl out of control. The last thing she thought before she blacked out was: _'Mission started.'_

* * *

**~Konoha Training grounds(with Shika, Sasuke & Kakashi)~**

"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned, feeling the taut muscles in his body refuse to cooperate. He failed to register any memory of any reason why he had come down to this state, nor how.

_'What happened?'_ he asked himself, eyes cracking open slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on familiar grass. And by the way the grass had matted and bent down after moving his stiff arm away, he had been laying wherever he was for quite a while.

He slowly sat up, testing his range. Eyes widened and tears pricked as a painful sensation bloomed in his abdomen, and he forced his aching body back down.

"Ugh!" he groaned as he let himself fall back, not at all caring whether he injured himself further. He was blind to everything but the pain in his stomach. His eyes shut close, intent on vanquishing the pain.

"So I see you're awake," inquired a voice he knew quite well.

His eyes immediately shot open at the sound again, and he sat up, instincts already on high alert. He looked around, looking for a threat, but relaxed slightly when he found the source of the slightly amused, but bored, voice to be his former sensei. Kakashi was sitting on a branch above the tree next to him, directly above a still unconscious Shikamaru. _'What's he doing here?'_

Sasuke finally felt the full force of the training exercise return to him. His face went from wide-eyed, to confused, back to wide-eyed, irritated, then confused again.

Kakashi's lone eye crinkled in amusement, watching how his usually expressionless student's face was changing emotions erratically without him knowing.

"I'm guessing you figured out what happened." His question came out more as a matter-of-fact statement, humor laced into it.

Sasuke settled for glaring at Kakashi vehemently.

"How..?" he ground out, his voice mixed with confusion and anger. His Sharingan blazed like fire, spinning into oblivion as the humiliation reached him.

"How did your two teammates, one of whom you underestimated immensely, beat you and the Konoha genius?" he asked rhetorically with one of his eyebrows raised and his forefinger pointing at the now slowly waking up Shikamaru. Kakashi answered his own question. "It's because they didn't make the mistake you did. They didn't underestimate or overestimate you. They _evaluated_ you and your moves. And besides that, even if you and Shikamaru were coordinated, the other two actually put it into action."

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, turning his head away as realization - grudgingly - dawned onto him, shame touching him. Shikamaru sighed and leaned back on his palms.

Kakashi jumped off the branch and slowly left the training ground, but not before leaving Sasuke with something to think about.

"You're not the only one who had their precious ones murdered, Sasuke," he told him in a voice that brinked sadness and regret. "Anyways, ja ne!" With a wave of his hand, he walked away.

Sasuke looked to where his former sensei had gone off and thought, '_What does he mean by that?' _

"Where are they now?" Shikamaru asked aloud.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, slowly rising to get back onto his feet.

"Well, you're still overly constipated, aren't you, Uchiha?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to turn around and hit his 'partner' and continued walking, eyebrow twitching.

"...Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

Sasuke flipped his off and disappeared.

Shikamaru was left alone. He hunched over where he was seated and sighed loudly, staring at a cloud. "Dammit, he left me."

* * *

**A/N: Alright~!x Another chapter up! Well just to tell you guys there's a Poll on my profile, for whether I should kepp Katara or not, check it out!**

**Random Poll: (got bored) **

**Favourite Naruto Team?**

**A) _Team Kakashi _**

**_B) Team Asuma_**

**_C) Team Gai_**

**_D) Team Kurenei_**

**_E) Sand Sibs_**

**_F) Team Hawk_**

**_Revew please!_**

_FLAMES ALLOWED!_


	4. Chapter 4: A Mission

**Disclaimer:** _I donot, will not, never did, own Naruto~_

**I would like to Thank my Awesome BETA Terra for her help in this! Her story _'Indifference' _was a slight inspiration in the making of this storym and you should check it out!x :)**

**I'd also like to thank everyone who Reviewed, Faved and Alerted! **

**I'd also like to apologize for the late Update, so sorry! the reason's on my profle.**

**Anyway Enjoy!**

**~See you down beloooooow~**

* * *

**RECAP:** _Shikamaru was left alone. He hunched over where he was seated and sighed loudly, staring at a cloud. **"Dammit, he left me."**_

* * *

"So... Naruto..." started Sakura awkwardly. The silence had been reigning for more than five minutes of their leisure walk and it was kind of getting to her; by the look on Naruto's face, he felt the same way. The two were headed off to check on Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kakashi back at the training grounds. And they were both prepared to rub it graciously in their faces.

"Do you think they've woken up by now?" Naruto turned to look at her, his eyes removing the hesitant look in them and instead laying out the familiar mischief.

"Maybe, Sakura-chan," he replied evenly, a grin on his face. "Or they could be cursing each other out senseless."

Sakura rolled her eyes, her lips tilting upwards slightly. She was grateful for him breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Shika? Curse?" She sent Naruto a mock incredulous look. "Are you crazy? He's too lazy to curse. And Sasuke?"

Naruto was prepared to argue the fact that Sasuke was a very sadistic person. What sadistic person doesn't curse? But before he could voice out his supposed theory, the two were interrupted by said person poofing in front of them. The smoke cleared, and there stood Sasuke in all his dark, princely, constipated glory.

"Wha-?" exclaimed Sakura, jumping slightly in surprise. Naruto merely grinned, already knowing what Sasuke's intentions were and reasons for appearing. He slung an arm over his best friend's shoulder, even when Sakura continuously shot him warning glances.

"Hey, Teme!" he greeted the stoic, brooding man before him, ignoring the looks Sakura sent. His grin widened with Sasuke's ominous glare. "I'm guessing you just woke up from your ass-beating."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. _'He's gonna get himself in deep shit if he continues like this.' _

**'_Cha! What do you expect?'_** inquired Inner Sakura with a grin on her face, not at all worried for Naruto. _**'Sweaty, tall, sexy, smokin' hot men fighting! I'm all for it!'**_

Sakura shook her head mentally at her Inner's antics. Sometimes, her Inner's boy-craziness scared her. A lot.

"Dobe..." growled Sasuke, warningly as Naruto carried on, talking about Sasuke's ass-whooping earlier. The Uchiha's tone seemingly fell deaf to his ears. Just as Sakura was about to grab one of Sasuke's hands that was inching towards his kunai pouch - he was probably going to lodge it in Naruto's neck...or head...or both... - a man dressed in skeleton-shaded armor and a porcelain, painted mask appeared, a scroll at hand.

"Ah!" Sakura slipped out, startled. A hand had gone to her chest to calm her erratic heart.

_**'Stupid Anbu, scaring the shit out of us like that!'** _growled Inner, angrily, furious that they'd been caught off guard _again_. One of these days, they'll regret it.

'_Seriously? Why can't they be normal and, I dunno...GIVE ME SOME PERSONAL SPACE!' _

thought Sakura, thinking of ways she could torture the Anbu before her.

"Haruno-san," greeted the Anbu politely. Working with the Anbu from time to time had given Sakura a chance to get to know plenty of ninja from the particular level. But that did not mean she could openly state who they were. After all, there could be enemy spies lurking in the village. Like Tsunade would say whenever she was sober: "Better to be safe than sorry!"

"Yes, Anbu-san?" inquired Sakura with the same well-mannered tone, her previous anger evaporating.

"Hokage-sama has requested your presence, as well as Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san," stated the Anbu. He sent one nod and then poofed out of their view. Sakura furrowed her brow in concentration and confusion.

_'What would Shishou want with us?'_

**_'Who cares?'_ **exclaimed Inner, exasperatedly._**'We haven't gone on a mission in ages!'**_

'_And how are you so sure it's a mission?' _

_**'...'**_

_'Exactly.' _ Sakura smiled smugly at her victory, but quickly fell back to the original topic.

_'Hmmm...' _

* * *

Sasuke watched Sakura's face change dramatically between confusion, smugness, and back to confusion, in a span of ten seconds.

'_What's wrong with her?' _he thought, his own brow knitting together in contemplation. Just as he was about to voice his question, Naruto beat him to it.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" he shouted, his voice laced with slight worry and anxiety. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Sakura snapped out of her stupor; a delayed reaction. She looked to Sasuke, first, then to Naruto. "Sorry Naruto, I was thinking about something."

Any traces of Naruto's previous grin disappeared whilst Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _'Something's bothering her.' _

"I was asking what's wrong," repeated Naruto, his hands crossed behind his head and his figure slouched. His statement implied the fact that his question hadn't been properly answered. Sakura smiled slightly, feeling a bit guilty for worrying him.

"Well, Tsunade wants us in her office, pronto," she answered, her eyes dimming slightly as though she wasn't quite with them.

"Hn," grunted Sasuke. He took the first move and pivoted on his heel, shooting onto a roof. His team hadn't move, so he glanced down at them. "Come on," he demanded, more than asked. Naruto seemed to pull out of his temporary trance trying to figure out Sakura and ran to catch-up with him.

"Wait up, Teme!"

Sakura smiled softly and began walking, gradually morphing in a jog, then a full blown leap and jump to keep up with her boys.

All the while, even though Naruto didn't bring it up again, he noticed that Sakura still hadn't answered his question.

* * *

**~At the Hokage Tower~**

Sakura bit back a groan at being called to the Tower, but still twisted the door-handle. She was surprised to see two familiar faces, both immersed in a conversation to notice her.

"Shika! Neji!" she exclaimed, jogging up to them with a dazzling smile.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Neji and Shikamaru, whom had stopped discussing why they had been summoned by the Hokage when they heard Naruto's chatter from outside the door, turned to look at the pinkette with a hard and serious look in their eyes. Shikamaru dropped the answer like a bomb.

"It's the Akatsuki."

It took Sakura a few moments to register the answer, but when she did, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

She could feel her teammates' chakras slowly start to stir anxiously, and a bit angrily.

"Akatsuki?" Sakura inquired silently, trying to grasp what she had been informed. She looked towards her Shishou, who only stared back gravely.

She looked different - _older _looking. Like her mask that hid all the insecurities and worries had been wiped clean off.

Tsunade sighed tiredly - she seemed to be doing that a lot lately - at her student.

Sakura sent her a look filled with worry and confusion. Not pity,_ never_ pity. Sakura knew her mother-like figure hated it when people pitied her. She smiled faintly at her student to ease some of that worry, and it seemed to do its job as Sakura's worry subsided and she smiled faintly back. Although the worry had not completely left her pupil's eyes.

That, she could live with.

"Alright, listen up. The reason I have called you five here is for mission," she authoritatively began.

Her Hokage mask returned, perfectly perched onto her face, though it didn't hide her grim expression.

All heads turned in the direction of the Hokage. The shinobi and single kunoichi straightened their postures to listen attentively. Akatsuki equaled serious shit.

Tsunade smiled at their undivided attention. She made the correct decision when picking out the members of this particular team for the mission.

"As you know the Akatsuki had been dormant for the past eight months - the reason being unknown. But there have some suspicious, under the radar activity. Apparently, it is said that they had been reviving some of the dead Akatsuki members."

She nodded towards Shikamaru and Sakura.

The two quickly replaced their surprised emotions with stony indifference.

"You two have previously defeated an Akatsuki member each - Sasori and Hidan."

They both nodded slowly.

"Well, this mission may or may not lead you to Akatsuki. It depends on their motive," she started with an air of mystery, shifting where her thoughts were going just a bit.

Naruto, not one to stay silent for long, and the fact that Tsunade wasn't getting to the actual mission concerning the Akatsuki, began to get agitated at the slight show of procrastination.

"What is it already!?" he questioned loudly with a hint of impatience and anger in his tone.

His friends sighed and some just shook their heads, but not Sakura. She'd already been anxious and the building anxiety was driving her closer to the edge. So Naruto's obnoxious screech was just the straw that broke the camel's back

. "YOU BAKA!" she exclaimed as her fist collided with the top of Naruto's head, leaving him whimpering in pain on the ground.

* * *

**~Sakura's P.O.V~**

As I listened to Tsunade I began to understand that she was hinting at something, Inner thought so too. It was subtle, and I didn't know if anyone else picked up on it.

**_"Do you think their motives have changed?" Inner asked worriedly._**

I, too, held the same worry, and it was confirmed by what Shishou said next.

"Well, this mission may or may not lead you to Akatsuki. It depends on their motive." No, there was a vague ring to it. Something...was off.

I sweat-dropped.

_ 'Really now, Shishou seems to be taking this a bit too far.'_

But it was just sudden revivals, the diversions, the low-profile bout the Akatsuki seemed to be taking on. For whatever reason, it seemed a little contradicting to me. There must have been something...it could be bigger, it could be smaller. Whatever it was, it was important.

Dammit. My stress levels must be fluctuating dramatically the same way my mood-swings do during that time of the month.I was brought out of my thoughts by Naruto's exclamation.

"What is it already!?" he huffed out loudly, and I could detect the faint anger and impatience in them. I heard something snap inside me - it could very well be he restraints on my emotions - but he just so happened to be the one to push my anxiety and stress. I reached out a fist.

Oh good, someone to hit.

* * *

**~Unknown Location~**

Now, we shall hone in on a place, infested with tall, bright, leafy bundles of trees. This, ladies and gentlemen, was the preferred resting place for the Akatsuki.

And currently occupying said clearing is our favorite Uchiha, elder brother, Itachi.

His eyes closed in concentration, Itachi sat cross-legged on a boulder. He looked to be in deep thought, letting the only sounds he could hear be the slight rustling of the leaves and the near soundless movements of the steady waves in the nearby lake. Itachi's Akatsuki cloak was discarded nearby. He adorned a fishnet, long-sleeve shirt with standard black ninja pants. His head band had been discarded along with the cloak.

As time passed, a gust of wind blew and tousled the Uchiha's near perfect hair, the raven locks curling around his God-like, chiseled yet slightly feminine but handsome face.

He slowly opened his eyes and it seemed the whole world stopped to marvel the beauty of his stunningly scarlet swirling orbs; Mangekyou Sharingan. With the speed of an S-classed criminal, a split second later, he had his cloak and slashed head-band on.

Without a glance back, he swiftly dashed away, erasing all traces of his presence.

* * *

**~Hokage Tower~**

After the previous ruckus had subsided, albeit slowly, the Hokage continued with her explanation. She managed to shut up the loud blonde and her apprentice with a mildly frightening glare and a promise of pain (towards said blonde).

"As I was saying," she continued, heaving a sigh. She slowly massaged her temples with her fore-fingers while speaking. "Their motives are currently unknown."

She locked eyes with each shinobi and single kunoichi in the room, gaze hardened with determination. This was dangerous. It was risky sending her best ninja solely because they were _best _she had. Losing them would leave Konoha with a largely hit defense... And also because of Sakura.

The daughter she'd always wished she had.

But she had to do this. She had to trust the best of the best to make it out alive and breathing. She had to do it.

"I want you five, along with three others, to investigate this. Starting with where the Akatsuki were last sighted," she explained, finally giving the order. Her eyes roamed the room, scanning the faces of her ninja and gauging their reactions. Amber eyes landed on Sakura and she carefully watched her.

Sakura stilled, unmoving.

With a small sigh, Tsunade tossed Shikamaru a gold lined scroll,. With naturally honed reflexives, he caught the scroll smoothly, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"That explains the mission in full detail," she elaborated, finally breaking the slight tension in the room. Quickly ticking off the mental notes she stored in her head in preparation for that specific moment, she recited as if from memory, "Nara, you are in charge of Squad 'A', consisting of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga."

Nods we exchanged and the tension broke even more. Inwardly, Tsunade sighed in relief. Yes, she could trust them.

"Your destination is Suna. I have informed the Kazekage of this."

Honey-colored eyes landed onto Naruto, who stood with a slightly gaping mouth. Well, he looked a _little_ confused.

...

Tsunade rolled her eyes. Okay, he was _really_ confused. She waited for the outburst. Three, two, one-

"WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Naruto hollered.

He'd been on his toes, wanting, craving, _begging_ for a mission. Anything to get him moving and exercised and feel the adrenaline that could never be brought on by a mere sparring session. _Anything_ to keep him from staying cooped up in Konoha - not that he hated it here. That was besides the point.

Tsunade picked up the black pen on her desk and pointed the sharpened tip in Naruto's direction, her strong and unwavering gaze making him flinch slightly.

"You," she started, "will be part of squad 'B', with Kakashi Hatake, Sai, and Yamato." Her eyes and stern tone made no room for argument and Naruto tightly clamped his lips shut, awaiting further instructions. "You will be headed to Iwa."

She set the pen down, not bothering to let it go, but dropping the tip against the front of a paper, scrawling random things to keep part of her occupied. But her stare remained fixated on him.

"Ask Kakashi for the rest. He is your squad captain," she finished.

Tsunade finally looked down and pushed away what she had been writing and began to sign her signature onto the paperwork that laid underneath. Her demeanor morphed into its usual Hokage-like self, but the lingering atmosphere stayed put.

Without looking, she raised the hand she wasn't writing with and absently waved. "That is all," she said. "You are dismissed."

She received a messy but definite chorus of confirmations and heard the knob of her doors turn. Feet shuffled, chakras shifted to move. But before all of them left, the blonde Hokage quickly remembered something.

Her head shot up, lucky to see pink hair still making her way towards the door.

"Ah! Not you sakura!" she quickly added.

Sakura paused without turning while the others filed out. Once the door shut behind Shikamaru - who shot her a curious, unsettling look she ignored - she pivoted on her heel and faced her mentor. Tsunade didn't like the look.

She knew.

"Is something wrong, Shishou?" she asked, her emerald eyes dimming just a shade, signifying her change in mood. Tsunade noticed the changed.

Tsunade sighed at her student. Always to the point.

"Yes. It seems the Akatsuki have been searching for experienced medics," she informed her. She carefully sought out her reaction, but only received a curious gaze in return.

"Please, Sakura. I want you to be careful out there." Sakura's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and she bit her lip in contemplation - a habit.

"You think they could be after me," she stated, more than asked.

Tsunade sighed for the hundreth time that day.

"Yes." Short and simple.

Sakura smiled at her Shishou to ease some of that worry, just like she had done not too long ago.

"I understand. Don't worry Shishou," she tried to reassure her. She puffed out her chest, then held up a sure, firm fist, glowing the familiar, comforting shade of green Tsunade grew to love. "I'm a strong girl." The fire and light reached the pinkette's eyes and Tsunade knew she was being honest.

It was a promise.

"Very well," Tsunade affirmed, smirking in pride. _This_ was her student. And she'd be damned if her student were weak. Sakura...is so much _more_. "Dismissed."

The pink-haired kunoichi only nodded once then turned to leave the room. Seconds before she could close the door, she heard a faint murmur. Her enhanced senses caught the single, desperate sentence. One with emotion her shishou rarely displayed.

"You'd better come home." Sakura smiled softly, surely, as she exited. Upon reaching the outside, she paused and stared at the sky, relishing the feel.

She would _not_ disappoint.

With new resolve, she burst into a full on sprint for Ichiraku, intent on finding her teammates.

* * *

A/N: OMG! Obito = Tobi!? ...Not a surprise. But Madar knew of it too? Hmm, Your opinions on this matter?

**EDIT: _11/9/12: Had my BETA help with the second part!xxx lol, My try wasn't that bad was it!? ;)_**

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	5. Chapter 5: Filler!

**Disclaimer: You know the drill!**

_**A/N: **OMFG! I am sooooooooooooooo sorry! TT-TT this was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too late! Hope this keeps you guys on your toes! Akatsuki's commin next chapter! ;) On a side note: I love my BETA she is amazayn! XD_

**~Meet you down there~!**

* * *

**_Recap: _**

**_"You better come Home."_**

_Sakura smiled as she exited the Tower, heading towards ichiraku to find her teamates._

* * *

**_Random 'Quote'of the Chapter!:_**

**_"Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit infront of their Television and treat life as if it goes on forever."_**

* * *

Naruto sat at his usual seat, self deep in thought for once. Sai sat to his left, Sakura on his right, Sasuke next to her, and Kakashi next to Sasuke, enjoying a few - well, it was a few to him - bowls of ramen. Joking around, talking, laughing together. Just like a team.

_'Just like it should be,' _Naruto mused. The hope of this picturesque moment lasting forever crossed his mind, but he pushed it away. It could never stay like this.

He wasn't the naive, little boy he had been all those years ago. But sometimes, he wished he could be... To not think about war, death, Akatsuki or anything related to that train of thought. To always be free to feel and love and care instead of bottling those emotions and hiding it behind the mask of a ninja and commit cold murder. He only wished to be normal...

Naruto shook his head from left to right, ridding himself of his previous thoughts. The life of a ninja, though cruel in some people's eyes, was a life he would never try to trade. Protecting others instead of murder was how he looked at it.

A rueful smile stretched his lips. But just because that was how he saw it, it was murder all the same.

"Naruto?" A soft voice rang from his right, pulling him away from those uncharacteristic thoughts.

He turned just slightly to see the questioning look on Sakura's pale, heart-shaped face.*(1)

Just to see, Naruto glanced around, checking whether or not his other teammates had heard the girl's question. But Kakashi had Sasuke immersed in a quiet discussion about the new mission they were given previous to that moment-

_'I seriously need to ask Kakashi about the details later,' _Naruto noted to himself gloomily, knowing his rather short attention span would have made it difficult to listen to any explanation. Sometimes, he wasn't too proud of it.

-and Sai was too busy observing the other occupants of the little hut, for his 'Emotions Project' of some sort, to pay attention to his teammates.

'_That guy's too creepy for his own good,' _Naruto thought in disgust, feeling oddly embarrassed at his clueless and utterly obvious antics.

"...Naruto."

Naruto blinked twice, getting pulled back to reality at Sakura's call once again.

"Yes?" he replied dumbly, oblivious.

Noticing Sakura's growing anger, he quickly tried to amend his mistake with an apology and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Complete with a nervous smile, and you had one familiar scene.

"Gomen! Gomen! (_Sorry! Sorry!)*_(2)" Naruto apologized again, noticing that Sakura wasn't very happy at his lack of attentiveness.

* * *

**~Sakura's P.O.V~ ***(3)

I sat in between Sasuke and Naruto, sort of spacing out. My mind was wandering as much as Naruto's probably was...but then I really got a good look at my team. So much had changed, when I looked at it. More than I could account for.

Sai, despite being with us for a short while, changed quite drastically even if the rest of our team hadn't noticed.

He sat there writing away in his little notebook about his observations, oblivious to his teammates.

When I had first met Sai, he was a complete jerk. The nicknames seriously dented my self confidence, and I always got pay back by landing several blows on his head. But then, I noticed something in the nicknames - they didn't come from the heart. He knew no emotion and knew no expressions. No love, nor anger, nor happiness. He was a shell.

But now, the fake smile that he still showed had twinges of feeling in them. And he seemed to come to recognize and actually feel some annoyance (thank Naruto for that realization). But most importantly, he learned to care for his team. That was proven when he had saved me from a deadly blow to the head, and he had done it out of pure care instead of just abiding by teamwork.

Currently, he seemed to be more interested in observing the other inhabitants of Ichiraku Ramen than conversing with any of us, although he did put a few words in now and then. Most of them insulting and towards Naruto.

I sweat-dropped at Sai's odd antics.

_'Well...at least he's having fun...' _

**_'Doing what? Baiting Naruto?'_ **offered Inner, rolling her eyes inside my mind.

'...'

Me, being the most logical (at times) member of our perfect _**('HAH! Good one!)**_team, chose to ignore the growing mental disease _**('...Hey! Take that back before I-')** _inside my head in favor of observing my other two teammates.

My emerald gaze landed on Sasuke without me trying, and I remembered the day Sasuke had returned.

Sasuke, for the most part, had quietly returned to Konoha.

_'Quietly my ass!'_

I inwardly snorted in an un-ladylike manner, finding humor in herself. The day of Team 7's reunion was definitely a memorable one.

**-FLASHBACK-**

It had been quite a boring day for one Sakura Haruno. Her day started off with her usual routine: Wake up, get ready, go to the hospital, work her shift, gather the files and report to her Shishou; that was what she was doing now.

The pink-haired female walked down the hallway, sighing and absently bringing a hand up with a thin flood of chakra to sooth her headache. Sometimes, using your head too often, to much, was just the same as getting beaten into Suna by Lee's taijutsu.

Entering through the Hokage Tower's front enterace, Sakura was immediately greeted by a red-faced and out of breath Shizune. From the signs, Sakura could sum up the fact that she had been running around frantically. Most likely looking for someone.

When Shizune saw her, her eyes quickly lit up like a candle.

"Sakura! Thank God!" Shizune breathed a sigh of relief, jogging over to Sakura. Once she was close, she paused to put her hands on her knees and catch her breath. Short, quick pants came out from the dark-haired woman's chest, gradually growing into a normal breathing pace.

Sakura raised a delicate pink brow in question.

"Shizune-san?"

Shizune, breathing at a steady rate, looked up at Sakura to find said girl staring down at her, prodding for an answer to her unspoken question.

"Ah, right..." She straightened herself, dusting away nonexistent dust. Her gaze locked with Sakura. "Tsunade-sama has urgently requested your presence."

Hearing her Shishou's name paired with 'urgently', Sakura quickly thanked her. Shizune quickly took the files from Sakura and rushed her away. Sakura smiled once, then hurried towards the Hokage's grand office.

* * *

Entering the office, Sakura quickly detected two other very prominent, and very familiar, chakra signatures. But before she could properly greet them, she was bombarded by a blur of orange and yellow.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, squeezing the living daylights out of her.

Sakura blindly searched around with her hands, then felt a clothed arm - probably the other occupant of the room. She clutched onto the bicep, holding for dear life and attempting to pry off Naruto's oddly large form away from her.

"L-Let go!" she finally managed to squeak out after a series of pulling and shouting.

Tsunade looked at the youngsters - well, two of them were considered young enough to be called 'youngsters' - in front of her with increasing amusement.

"Alright Naruto, that's enough."

As the duo straightened themselves, Sakura noticed that Kakashi seemed to have been missing his perverted orange book. He was only gazing at them with mild amusement, as well, scanning the faces of his old students.

She rose her brow in shock, but that quickly dissolved into firm attention at what her mentor said next.

"I have a mission for the three of you," started Tsunade as she folded her arms across her chest, looking at the three with a stony expression plastered on her young-looking, untouched by old age, face. "It's a retrieval mission."

At this both Naruto and Sakura straightened visibly. Could it be...?

"It has come to my knowledge that Sasuke Uchiha has been recently spotted near the borders of Konoha. I am sending the three of you on this mission, for it is your last chance to convince him to return."

A visible tenseness appeared in the room, suffocating and heavy. This was a touchy subject. Their last chance - they can't afford to screw this up.

"What happens if we can't?"

Naruto seemed shocked at the fact that Sakura would even ask such a question, but she looked on at her Shishou with no hint of joking. She ignored Naruto's surprise and focused forward.

Tsunade smiled at her daughter-like figure, knowing that, unlike Naruto, she would choose to know the consequences before heading into the fray. It was smart to pick Sakura as her second apprentice. And while she loved both of her apprentices very much, Sakura would be the one to surpass her and make her the most proud.

"If you fail to convince Sasuke," Tsunade looked at each of them with a sense of foreboding, thinly veiling her pride, "then he will be hunted down and executed."

You could here a pin drop as Tsunade finished her sentence. Kakashi's gaze hardened at the consequence of not completing the mission. Naruto felt an argument stir within his chest. And Sakura? Surprisingly, Sakura was the one who remained rigid, left in waiting for the rest.

The silence gradually broke once Naruto worked that argument up his chest. It left his lips in a cry of outrage.

"GRANNY! You can't do that!"

Tsunade had been prepared and immediately fixed Naruto with a glare that temporarily shut him up. But she wasn't completely angry with his outburst. It was understandable. She was more weary than irritated.

"You have a week to complete this mission. Failure will only lead to the execution of the Uchiha," she finished with a final wave of dismissal. She was the epitome of certainty, but the pang of guilt and pain at having to abide by the Elders' wish was still there.

It would always be there

* * *

Silence rang true.

It remained soundless, the only thing able tor each the ears was the soft swishing of the leaves as they past, and the dull padding of their feet against the thick branches.

"...Sakura-chan?" Naruto finally asked as they traveled through the trees at neck-breaking speed, matched equally with stealth. After leaving Konoha in search of Sasuke five days prior, they had finally caught on a lead. It seemed that Sasuke had indeed been loitering on the borders of Konoha in a group of four.

"Yes, Naruto?" answered Sakura. To the civilian eye, she seemed to be unfazed. But in reality, she was struggling to keep up with the pace, especially having to continue it for four days of searching non-stop.

"What are we gonna do when we find Teme?" Sakura did not fail to notice the 'when' in place of the 'if', and it seemed that neither did Kakashi. He lifted his head slightly to gaze at Naruto with an unreadable look, before returning to the contents of his favorite orange book. How he read that book and kept on traveling at the rate they were going, Sakura would never find know.

"I'm surprised Naruto. What do you think we'll do?" asked Sakura with a mischievous grin. She'd be damned if that Uchiha returned to their homeland unscathed.

Naruto returned the grin with equal force, already linking both hers and his trains of thoughts together. He definitely knew what she was thinking and would be helping out for sure.

"Kick his ass, of course! Believe it!"

Sakura smiled at the positive energy her teammate radiated. It was a nice change compared to the suffocating anxiety back in the office. And she felt it in Kakashi's chakra that their sensei was thinking something along the same lines as them.

There was a small rustling that hit the ears and their odd sense of self-pride quieted down. They zoned in on the light sound, then realized that it was.

Kakashi dropped down from the trees, speeding for the ground. Naruto hiked up, pushing himself towards the upper canopy of leads. And Sakura vanished in an air of smoke. The smoke was whisked around, three kunai whizzing past where Sakura had previously been.

The three rushed around the four indiscernible signatures and ran for a clearing, sensing the rest of their team moving towards the same location as if reading each other's minds.

Kakashi was first as he had been on the ground. Naruto bursted out of the trees and landed heavily beside Kakashi, not caring about stealth at the moment. Sakura appeared from thin-air, landing with a soft thud.

The silver-haired sensei's students flanked him on either side, and he fell into a stance, pulling his hitai-ate up.

"Show yourself!"

Naruto gasped as he felt a rush of water crawl up his leg, then yank him back. Sakura screamed his name, but he only heard ringing in his ears, landing on his back painfully. His eyes widened, registering the pain. He leaned up groggily, water making his clothes cling to him like second skin.

A boy with a pale complexion, deep violet eyes, and silver-blue thread-colored hair stood, a sharp fang sticking past his lips in a toothy grin. A large sword sat on his back, and Naruto recognized the sword from a past mission in Wave...Zabuza's sword...

"Hey there, Kyuubi," the boy greeted casually, squatting down. Naruto watched him warily, remaining on the ground. He moved to get up, but felt panic surge within him once he saw that he couldn't. And that the water covering him hadn't dried much at all.

The boy only grinned wider.

* * *

Kakashi left his gaze locked on the rest of the forest before them, Sakura switching between looking forward, then looking back at Naruto. But she couldn't rush to help him; that would leave her sensei against three.

"Sakura, make sure you're ready," Kakashi murmured quietly. Her ears picked it up, and she nodded just barely, looking back forward.

All remained still and silent, save for Naruto's struggles and the other boy circling him, mocking. Naruto was shouting indignantly, and to Sakura's relief, escaped whatever hold he was in and was up and moving.

A sound reverberated like a thwack, and a tall, heavy built man with dull but pure orange hair emerged from the greenery. Student and teacher alike had their stares warily watching the man.

He looked harmless - his expression told that much. His eyes, though dark, held care and gentleness. His expression was serene. And what completed the scene was the small hummingbird admirably stroking its feathers against his hand.

But there was a change, and suddenly, the hummingbird fled as if it were on fire. Kakashi noticed that only too late, and was on the opposite side of the clearing within the same time-frame.

The man had body-slammed him clear across, and the peacefulness that radiated from him was wiped clean.

It was then that Kakashi identified a curse mark.

* * *

Sakura inwardly cursed her luck, fiery emerald eyes dead-seat on the forest before her. She was alone and exposed - vulnerable. Behind her, above her, and below her were all open, and panic surged like sharp hunger throughout her body.

There was a laugh - obnoxious and high-pitched - that rang through her side of the clearing. The laugh vibrated, bouncing through the trees and running back and forth, to and from. Red eyes, deadly, swirling, cold, familiar. They appeared just beyond, and was the only light...

Kakashi's battle, Naruto's battle, both faded away like a steadily muting television. Sakura felt light-headed and slightly dizzied.

The laughter continued, ringing to her left, then her right. Above, and below. Behind, and in front. Everywhere, but nowhere. Yet the eyes remained. The eyes...

...that had three tomoe.

Sakura pulled her hands together and formed the perfect hand-sign. "Kai," she muttered calmly, realizing what was happening.

The genjutsu shattered like a mirror, breaking into millions of shards before the real world appeared. Naruto was screaming in defiance somewhere behind her, dozens of battle-cries telling her his favored ninjutsu was in play. Kakashi's battle was quiet, but existed, chakra pumping and being used.

"So you're Sakura?"

Her head snapped to attention so fast, that she feared for whiplash.

A tall, female red-head appeared within view, walking with the air of a seductress. A grey-white, long sleeved top opened at the bottom revealed the flat expanse of her creamy stomach, the covering material still pronouncing her gifted bosom. The black, short shorts accentuated the long length of her smooth legs, disappearing into tall black boots. Back at the top, her neck was swan-like. Her face was slightly heart-shaped, but was flawless; full, naturally dark lips, a thin, princess-like nose, high cheekbones leading to long lashes, perfectly arched eyebrows, and then the eyes - dark, sultry and red. They were hidden by black framed glasses. And the signature part? Her oddly cut, but brightly colored, red hair.

This woman was beautiful.

"Are you deaf?"

...Sakura took the compliment back.

The red-head sneered, twisting her pretty features into an ugly countenance.

"No. I am Sakura," Sakura confirmed, emerald eyes glaring like demonfyre. "And who might you be?" The dripping venom was so thick, it could be caught with a bowl. But the other female only continued sneering, apparently oblivious to the slight insult.

"I'm Karin," she replied, ego bursting just at being asked the name. "And I'm gonna take you down, bitch.

That did it. Simply put, all hell broke loose.

-END FLASHBACK-

Sakura laughed aloud, remembering the fight. After duking it out with Karin and then leaving her tied to a tree using chakra string, she had managed to circle the area and found Sasuke lounging around, watching Naruto's fight and waiting to land a deadly blow. Mustering all of the practiced stealth she could she lunged.

And managed to literally knock the surprised Uchiha into unconsciousness.

She was brought out of her odd daze by a soft tap on her shoulder. Her head lolled to the side, rolling out her stupor and landing her questioning gaze upon the emotionally-troubled artist.

"Yes?" she inquired, addressing Sai.

"What is it that amuses you, Ugly?" Sai answered with a question of his own, oblivious to the irritation oozing from the pinkette in front of him once her 'favored' nickname stumbled off of his tongue. He tilted his head, genuinely curious, but altogether naive.

Sakura tightened her fists, attempting to contain her self-control and refrain from punching Sai all the way to Suna. She reverted to her restraining method; inwardly counting to ten.

After she did what she had planned, with slight difficulty, she took a deep breath and turned to face Sai, confusion on his face. Her features softened when she tried to convince herself that Sai's little…err…problem, wasn't necessarily his fault. Danzo's stupid training regime had rendered him incapable, at first, to feel any emotion at all. So he did not know his right from wrong.

An excuse - for now.

"I was just remembering something Sai, that's all." She answered his previous question with a sly smile on her face. She hadn't failed to catch the slight scowl Sasuke sent her way, when he finally understood what she had been thinking about, or the way his hand moved to soothe his jaw in memory where he had taken the hit before the world faded into black like a movie.

Sai, being the person he was, still seemed slightly confused but chose to leave it at that and resumed his earlier actions.

As everything went back to how it was before, Sakura noticed that Naruto hadn't touched his food at all. Sakura's brow furrowed worriedly.

She moved her chair slightly to get a better look at him, when she noticed Sasuke's bowl slowly being eaten away. Sakura, knowing Sasuke was not too fond of this specific meal, turned to look at him startled when she saw him, not eating away the contents of the bowl of food behind him, but talking (or grunting) with Kakashi about the latest mission.

Now more confused then ever, Sakura looked around Sasuke at the bowl of ramen behind him to find a pair of chopsticks being manipulated to grab the noodles, by none other than the local blonde prankster. Sakura rolled her eyes as her features smoothed into a soft, yet irritated smile.

_'There really was no use worrying about him.' _stated Sakura mentally.

Inner nodded, for once agreeing on something.

* * *

Key:

*(1)- Not very sure if her face is heart-shaped or not.  
*(2)- I'm giving up on the translating from this point on  
*(3)- Not very good at writing P.O.V's so this might be the last one, MIGHT.

_**A/N: Really am sorry bout the late update! I was sick, and sick then sick again! All my weekends wasted in bed. :/**_

_**READ & REVIEW!**_

_Flames allowed~_


	6. Chapter 6: Forward Planning

**Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto. Kishi does. I won this plot, considering I'm writing it, and all the OCs. **

* * *

**_Recap:_**

**_'There really was no use worrying about him.' _**_stated Sakura mentally._

_Inner nodded, for once agreeing on something_.

* * *

By the time Sakura reached the gates, the sun had barely begun to rise, signalling dusk. She quitely made her way towards the gates and towards the sillhoute already present there as she quickly tried to hide her raging anger at having to wake up so early in the morning. She was not a morning person.

'Stupid Neji and his stupid mannerisms and his stupid we-must-finish-this-as-soon-as-possible attitude!' thought Sakura, angrilly killing a Neji doll in her head.

"Haruno." greeted Neji as Sakura came to realise that she had been staring off into space and had been for the past five minutes.

"Hey Neji." she greeted back, trying her best not to punch the so-not-totally-hot-in-his-black-anbu-gear Hyuuga.

She looked around wondering where her other teamates were. Kakashi would probably be his usual self and come to the meeting point late. Naruto would already be on his way here, seeing as Neji and her, although not morning people, were early. Sai and Yamato had already headed out to Iwa to make sure Kakashi and Naruto's arrival was addequate. Shikamaru would also, most likely, arrive a little after Naruto. But Sasuke...

Sakura's brow furrowed as she thought of her anti-social -and also not a morning person- Teamate. He usually arrived ontime, not early or late. Something to do with his mother drilling manners into his and his brother's beings when they were little. Although she could be mistaken seeing as he was drunk at the time.

* * *

Neji wasn't a morning person. He didn't like morning people either. He didn't like mornings. Or people to boot, but when it came to missions he was always early. His Hyuuga-proud nature made him out to be the proper gentleman, as well as a team leader, and if the team leader wasn't there on time it reflected badly on the rest of him and the team.

Usually, on missions where he, Sakura, Sasuke and Shikamaru were placed together, he would arrive there first, joined by Sasuke and Sakura and then finally Shikamaru. But today they would have to wait for two extra obstacles.

Neji's face darkened at the thoguh of waitng for the infamous copy-nin. Kakashi's late streak was well known throughout the nations, even to all of Konoha's enemies and allies, and Neji, who was already in a bad mood, didn't feel like waiting for the copy-nin, knowing it would be hours before he arrived.

But since Neji had to wait, and by hell would he let this get the better of him, wait patiently he would. For now though, he'd settle with glaring at the tree in-front of him.

* * *

~**Unknown Location~**

Leaves rustled quitely, but they were blocked by the approaching noise coming from the group of four that had settled around a small fire in the middle of the clearing. The smoke from the fire seemed to dissapear as it reached higher into the sky. The occupants of the little clearing didn't particularly seemed as calm and gentle as their surroundings.

"I can't belive I'm stuck with you idiots, yeah!" shouted a lean sunny-blonde, throwing the other three occupants fierce glares to further pronounce his anger at being assigned to this particular squad.

"Shut the Fuck up you pansy bitch!" retorted a handsome, silver headed ninja. He grinned, his eyes shining at the fuming expression on the blonde's face.

"Why you-!"

"Enough."

The two bickering males were silenced by the clear irritation infected in the voice of one of the organisations most emotionless members, if he had actually bottered to do so then it most likely meant that this little member was affected by this particular mission as much as the rest of them.

"We shall put the plan we discussed prior to this conversation in action." he stated after a few minutes of un-comfortable silence.

As irritated as Deidara was at being silenced by the Uchiha, he didn't really have a choice but to agree with what the Team leader said, considering he had no reasonable evidence to object to Itachi's statement.

So he nodded his head right after Hidan grinned, who seemed completely un-affected by the red-eyed Uchiha's command.

Kisame, who had been silently watching the whole ordeal play out in amusement, raised his brow at Itachi in question. Only to recieve a black stare in response.

_'Tch, he'll tell me when the time's right,' _thought Kisame, his face contorting into a devious grin, '_wonder what the little medic's gonna do though.'_

* * *

**~Konoha Gates~**

As Sakura and co left the gates after a final word to the Hokage, Sakura couldn't help but be slightly suspicious.

_'I'm still not sure about this' _Thought Sakura, srunching her brow, unconciously, in thought.

**_'About what?' _**asked her Inner.

_'About letting Naruto on this mission.'_ Answered Sakura as she added more chakra into the soles of her feet to speed her pace up, '_I mean, the Akatsuki are after him.'_

**_'Well, shouldn't you worry more about us?'_ **

_'Why?' _

_**'Didn't Shishou say that the Akatsuki were looking for a medic?'**_

_'Yes, but-'_

**_'Then stop thinking about Naruto too much and start planning your escape!'_**

_'Escape from what?'_ Now Sakura was very confused, and the answer came to her when she could no longer hear her Teamates and was knocked unconcious. But not before a last fleeting thought made her gasp in realisation and fear.

_**'The Akatsuki!'**_

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Small Chapter, I know. I'm having writer's block and all. But since I'm on a 5 day leave from school, I just might have time to write this._

_But honestly? I'm thinking of leaving this story. But that's make me mad and I hate not completing a story, rewriting is a different matter all together._


	7. Chapter 7: Captured

**Disclaimer:** Kishi owns this shiz, not meh!

_I am soooooooo sorry! I feel like I'm always late (which I am) on updating. I feel like crying everytime I write something TT-TT I'm such a failure. _

_But Oh well! No use crying over it, I'm a strong girl, I'll deal. Hope you amazing readers like it. & Remember **REVIEW!**_

_**NOTE: Take the poll on my profile please! Arigato! -**_

* * *

**Random Quote of the Chapter:**

_"She's not showing any interest in me and she looks like she doesn't want to be here. Should I take off her handcuffs? I thought kidnap victims were supposed to fall in love with their captors? "_

* * *

**RECAP:**

_**'The Akatsuki!'**_

* * *

Sakura woke up to find herself gagged and blind-folded.

_'What the!' _Sakura tried to move around, only to receive resistence on her ropped wrists, _'Where am I!?'_

_**'Don't ask me!'** _Inner stated angrilly, _**'I can't belive you got captured by the Akatsuki!'**_

_'I got WHAT!?' _If Sakura could, she'd probably gape in shock and flail in horror. But alas, she was tied.

**_'Captured by the Akatsuki.'_**

_'How?' _

**_'Well, after I sorta gave you a really bad warning you got hit by a big, might I say badass, sword.'_**

_'Kisame? Was the person wielding the sword Blue?'_

**_'Yes, how'd you know?'_**

_'...'_

**_'...'_**

**_'Oh! right! Akatsuki, blue member who has a giant chakra suckin' sword, how'd I foget!'_**

_'Idiot.'_

After that Sakura choose to ignore her ever annoying-_HEY!-_Inner, in favour of rationalising the current situation she was in.

She remembered that she hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings or Teammates while she was discussing with her Inner, and she had been training non-stop the day before after hearing the posibility that the Akatsuki might want her. The fact that she had been deplated of Chakra and strangth and had to wake up at Dawn, didn't really help in her current predicament.

_'Shishou's gonna kill me when she hears the reason for my capture!' _Sakura panicked at the posibility of being at the recieving end of her teacher's wrath, '_How could I've been so **Stupid?!'**_

_**'Yeah, how could you.'**_

_'Shut up, you're me!'_

**_'...'_**

That shut Inner up for now.

* * *

Meanwhile, without Sakura's knowledge, the two Akatsuki members were looking at thier captive with something akin to confusion.

Well one of them was, Itachi was just meditating.

"Hey Itachi," Kisame looked at their esteemed future Medic with something akin to amusement, "Should we interrupt her?"

Their Pink-haired prisoner had been changing her expressions as if she'd been talking, or arguing, with herself. Neddless to say, it was quite amusing.

"Hn." Was the only reply he recieved from his emotion free partner. Kisame sweatdropped.

'_Boy needs to learn to lighten up.'_

Kisame, deciding that he'd had enough, began making his way to the opposite side of their make-shift camp, to where Sakura was placed.

He told her to not scream or he'd kill her, before taking out the gag in her mouth.

"Hey Pinky!" He exclaimed, grinning when she tensed but otherwise stayed still.

"Kisame I presume." Sakura stated with her voice slightly devoid of emotion.

Kisame's eyes widened slightly, before he calmed down. Sure, she knew who he was, but so did every other shinobi out there.

"Yeah." Kisame confirmed Sakura's earlier statement, scratching the back of his head and leaning his sword next to a tree.

"Sakura Haruno right?" Kisame moved closer to the pink-haired kunouchi, crouching down to her level. He ignored Itachi's small noise of caution. She was blind-folded and tied, what could she do?

It was quite before Kisame heard the slight shuffling of fabric. He turned his head around to see that Itachi had moved slightly to face his body towards Kisame and Sakura. His eyes now open and coated with blood-red sharingan.

"It is not wise to underestimate an opponent." Itachi said after a minute of awkward silence.

Kisame rolled his eyes but otherwise showed no signs of disagrrement.

He turned back to their prisoner before studying her for a minute more.

"Hey Pinky," This earned him a slight twitch and frown from the pink-haired girl, "No questions?"

This had been bugging him slightly, most captives usually questioned why they'd been kidnapped in the first place, where they were, and sometimes, the weaker ones, even begged for thier lives to be spared.

But Sakura had done no such thing, she'd been silent through and through, except when she had uttered his name, and had not struggled like most captives did. Itachi, as well as Kisame, was a little suspicious. But his answer came to him when Sakura answered Kisame's question.

"Shishou had warned me before-hand that I may have been your intented target." Said the Pinkette, and after a breif pause continued, "I assume you want me either for the sake of a hostage to lure Naruto, or for my Medical assets."

Kisame was slightly impressed that their Hokage had figured out their Leaders motive so quickly. But he was surprised too, if her Hokage had known that a highly dangerous organisation had been targetting her apprentice, why let her leave the village on a mission to track down the Akatsuki.

"Right on Pinky!" Kisame chuckled, "Didn't the leaf brats would figure it out that easily."

"Do not underestimate the enemy." Sakura echoed back Itachi's earlier warning, earning her a slight raise of eyeborws from both Itachi and Kisame.

* * *

**Sakura's P.O.V~**

_'Shit. shitshitshitshit. SHIT!'_

Although I was acting calm and collected on the outside, I was literally freaking out on the inside.

_**'Stop** **it!**'_ Inner repriminded me, seemingly okay with our current situation.

_'How the hell can you be **calm**!?' _

**_'Why wouldn't __I__ be?'_**

If I wasn't being held captive against my will by two really dangerous S-class missing nin's, I'd face palm myself right about now.

'_We're being held captive by the **AKATSUKI!'**_

_**'So?'**_

_'...'_

**_'...'_**

_'I give up on you.'_

I decided to stop arguing with Inner, knowing that'd get me nowhere, and decided to stay focused on the two ninjas staring at me. Well Kisame was staring, Itachi seemed like he was...observing.

I shivered, damn were his eyes haunting.

_'...yet they were really sexy'_

I shook my head vigourisly, I did not just think that.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I always have these stupid Author notes at the bottom that no one (kinda) reads._

_No excuse as to why I wasn't updating fast, I honestly forgot about . T-T_

**_REVEIW PLEASE!_**

_I know I'm a review whore. :*_


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